Roofing-tongs



J. KURTZ. ROOPING Toms.

(No Model.)

,719. Patented Aug. 25, 1896.

UNITED STAT-ns Arnivr trice.

JOHN KURTZ, OF SOUTH BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA.

ROOFING-TONGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 566,719, dated August 25, 1896.

Application iiled March 18, 1896. Serial No. 583,781. (No model.)

To all whom it may concorre:

Beit known that I, JOHN KURTZ, a citizen of the United States, residing at South Bethlehem, in the county of Northampton and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Roofing-Tongs, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in rooting-tongs.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of rooting-tongs for seaming tin roofs and to provide a simple and inexpensive tool adapted to be readily handled and capable of being locked in engagement with a seat to relieve the operator of strain.

IThe invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a pair of rooting-tongs constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of the jaws, illustrating the manner of connecting the same with the pivoted members or bars of the tongs. Fig` 3 is a detail perspective view of one of the jaws. lever.

Like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

1 and 2 designate pivoted members or bars of a pair of tongs, having curved arms 3, extending downward or outward beyond the pivot 4 and having their inner or upper portions spread and terminating in handles 5. The bars or members are iiattened and perforated intermediate of their ends to receive the pivot 4, and the bar or member 2 is bifurcated at that point and receives the perforated portion of the other member or bar.

Between the arms 3 are located a pair of seam-engaging jaws 6, composed of iiat bars and having their lower engaging edges beveled, and they are yieldingly connected with the arms 3 by crossed bowed springs and 8, disposed longitudinally and transversely of the jaws and located on the outer faces thereof. The longitudinally-disposed spring is pro- Fig. 4 is a similar view of the lockingvided at its ends with slots 0, receiving fastening devices 10 for securing the spring to the jaw. The transversely-disposed spring has its ends loosely bearing against the exterior of the jaw, and both springs are centrally secured to the adjacent arm The member or bar 2 of the tongs has fulcrumed on it an approximately J-shaped lever 11, having its body portion located at the outer side of the member or bar, adjacent to the handle thereof, and provided with a curved end 12, located between the upper portions of the members or bars of the tongs and forming a tooth or dog and arranged to engage a series of shouldered teeth 13, located at the inner side of the other member or bar and forming a ratchet. The curved end or tooth 2 is held in engagement with the teeth 18 of the bar or member 1 by a spring 1G, interposed between the bar or member 2 and the handle of the lever 11. -The lower end of the spring is secured to the outer face of the bar or member 2, as clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings, and the upper or free end of the springs 16 bears against the inner concave face of the handle portion of the lever 11 and is adapted to slide freely thereon.

W'hen the upper portions of the members of the tongs are spread to cause the yieldingly-mounted jaws to engage a seam, the lever 11, which is located adjacent to one of the handles, is adapted to be compressed against the same or in the direction thereof to cause the tooth or dog 12 to engage the rack 13, whereby the jaws are locked in their engagement with the scam. The handle of the lever is located in convenient position, so that the operator with one hand may grasp the locking-lever and the adjacent handle of the tongs. The lower portion of the locking-lever is laterally offset, and is perforated to receive the pivot or fulcrum 14, and extends across one face of the member 2, while the engaging end or dog 12 and the handle portion of the lever lie approximately in the same plane as the members of the prongs. The yieldingly-mounted jaws are supported and guided in their movements by curved arms 15, extending laterally from one of the jaws and passing through the perforations of the IOO It will be seen that the tongs are simple and4 comparatively inexpensive in construction,

that they are easily handled, and that means.

are provided for locking the jaws in engagement with a seam to relieve the operator.

Changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

That I claim isl. In a roofing device, the combination of two members pivoted intermediate of their ends, having handles at their upper ends and provided at their lower ends with jaws, a ratchet mounted on the upper portion of one ofthe members,and a locking-lever fulcrumed intermediate of its ends on the other member, extending along the same at the outer side thereof and having, at its outer end, a handle portion arranged adjacent to the handle portion of such member and adapted to be grasped by the operator in grasping the latter, the lower end of the locking-lever being interposed between the pivoted members and engaging the ratchet, substantially as described.

2. In a roofing device, the combination of two members pivoted intermediate of their ends and provided at their upper ends with handles, jaws arranged at the lower ends of the pivoted members, a ratchet mounted on theupper portion of 'one of the pivoted members, ,a locking-lever fulcrumed intermediate of its ends on the other pivoted member, having its upper portion arranged at the outer side of the same and located adjacent to the handle thereof, in convenient position to be grasped by the Operator in grasping the handle of such pivoted member, the lower or inner portion of the lookin g-lever extending between the pivoted members and engaging the ratchet, and a spring interposed between the outer portion of the lockingdever and the adjacent pivoted member to maintain the locking-lever in engagement with the ratchet, substantially as described.

3. In roofing-tongs, the combination of two members pivoted intermediate of their ends, a pair of jaws located between the lower ends of the members, and cushioning-springs interposed between the members and the jaws and connecting the same, substantially as described.

4. In roofing-tongs, the combination of two members pivoted intermediate of their ends, a pair of jaws located between the lower ends of the members, and the crossed bowed sprin interposed between the members and the jaws and centrally secured to the former and having their ends slidingly arranged on the lat ter, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aiixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN KURTZ.

Witnesses FRITZ WAHL, A. L. COPE. 

